High Rise!
by Vaelliance
Summary: Historical AU- What happens if a court noble like Nanase Haruka were to associate with an upstart like Matsuoka Rin? Will the difference in their status permit friendship, or even LOVE under the eyes of society? Or will they let their difference separate them and let their love fall to tragedy?
1. Prologue

A/N: This story may not be as serious as the summary makes it sound. This story takes place during the Meiji period or something like that because I'm not very familiar with Japanese History so forgive me for any inconsistency on that and I ask that you ignore it or you may enlighten me about it. Still, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

PROLOGUE

Nanase Haruka was making his way towards the Chairman's office while going over in his head what he wanted to say and needed to express towards the person with the highest position within the school. He wasn't entirely sure if he could get to talk with the Chairman or if he would even be allowed to see him. But this was for the sake of a good friend, a special friend, for his future and for the greater good. So he wanted to do everything he could do to help his friend even if that meant that he had to use whatever power his family name had.

Seeing the last turn of the corridor to reach the Chairman's office, Haruka inhaled deeply and held it in as he made the turn. But the breath he held in was released at the sight of silky red hair. His feet stopped walking and he just waited for the woman with the red hair to reach him.

The woman had her head bowed and a hand covering the lower part of her face thus making it difficult to see her face. At first, Haruka thought that maybe she wouldn't even notice him but as she was just about to pass him by, she stopped and looked down at him with wide, glassy eyes. "Nanase-kun, what are you doing here?" She asked in a gentle, comforting tone that the adults always seemed to use when talking to a child. Except, the gentleness and comfort in her voice were sincere and Haruka knew that.

"I…" Haruka started then trailed off, finding out that he didn't know what to answer to her question. He searched his mind for the right words to say that wouldn't offend and hurt this woman but because there were too many things that ran in his mind, he ended up staying silent and just balling his hands into fists.

The red-haired woman seemed to have noticed his loss for words. The corners of her lips rose slightly as she placed a hand on his shoulder and bent down on her knees to get their heights at a level. "Nanase-kun, you've been a good friend to my son. Thank you for taking care of him for all these times." Her arms slowly enveloped around the small body of Haruka and wrapped around him tightly. "I'm glad that you gave him good memories of this society."

Haruka's breath caught and he felt that he didn't deserve her words of gratitude. Or rather, he didn't want to hear them and he didn't like how she made it sound like it's a farewell. He was still going to talk to that Chairman so there was still hope. So he didn't want to hear any goodbyes just yet.

The warmth of the woman's arms left him as she straightened up to her feet and ruffled his hair. "Sorry, Nanase-kun, I have to go. Rin's waiting for me. I really hope I get that chance to see you again." She gave him one last smile before turning away and walking towards the opposite direction to the Chairman's office.

Forgetting about his nervousness and the script he'd made in his head to say to the Chairman, he almost ran to the door that led to the person he needed to make his friend stay and it took his all to not burst in and to stop in front the door to knock.

However, when his knuckles lightly hit the wooden material of the door, it slightly cracked open, bringing to him the sound of voices talking. He was surprised to find that he recognized both of the voices that conversed inside and he couldn't help himself turning rigid with confusion.

"…waiting for this to happen. He'd started to become a threat that just had to be removed before things turned for the worst." A deep, intimidating voice that Haruka knew all too well to the point of making his blood turn cold stated.

"Well, this is definitely good for you. Recently, the son of that person had also started to get close to your son." This voice Haruka recognized was that of the Chairman's. He knew that eavesdropping would get him punished if he's found out but because he'd heard of something he understood, he couldn't remove himself from outside the door. "If he knew of what you did, your son might rebel against you."

A chuckle followed by the deep voice. "Well, I'll re-educate him well. So well that even when I told him I'm the one who killed the bastard who happened to be his friend's father, he wouldn't even bat an eye."

The hair on Haruka's skin stood on ends, his eyes widening as wide as they could. He took a few steps backwards, refusing to hear any more and without even realizing it, his feet started to run. He didn't know where his feet was bringing him for all he could think of was to escape. Escape the sound of that deep voice, escape the true meaning of those words, escape the realization that they're parting and escape the feelings of reality that was too real.

When his feet slowed down, his breathing coming out in pants, he wiped away the sweat that was forming on his forehead with a sleeve and he looked around him. He immediately recognized the place that his feet led him to and this… this place was his escape.

He walked the rest of the way and he let out a soundless gasp when he saw a familiar figure with a head of red standing underneath a tree that had not a single leaf left. He could only stare at the back of the person when a surge of mixed emotions flooded him just as much as the many thoughts that occurred in mind. He hesitated between letting the person know of his presence or to just leave even this place to run somewhere else. Before he could decide, the person turned around and laid red eyes on him.

The two just stared at one another with identical shocked expression until the red-haired finally broke out into a small smile and spoke, "I guess this is goodbye, Haru." He attempted to appear cheerful but the hint of sadness was there. "But I don't really want this to be the end of our friendship so I was thinking if I could go and visit you in your house sometimes."

Haruka's breath hitched and he shook his head a bit forcefully. "You can't." He didn't know how he managed to sound the same as usual when everything inside of him was in turmoil. He didn't want their friendship to just end either. "You can't. The high-society is just not for you, Rin. You're not suitable to be among us. It'd be so much better for you to just live a normal life." He swallowed a sound that almost escaped him at the sight of Rin's hurt expression. But this was better, he told himself. Much better than other people hurting Rin.

Rin's expression changed into that of anger, his shoulder tensed up and his hands clenched into tight fists. "What the hell?! I thought you didn't care about status or fame!"

"You're wrong!" Haruka countered with as much anger as he could. "I do care! From the very beginning, I didn't want anyone with a low status around me! You're the one who forced yourself on me!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. Well, they were actually the truth but he didn't want Rin to misunderstand his meaning. But misunderstanding him was better. So he pressed his lips together into a tight line to prevent himself from spouting any more words.

Rin visibly shook in anger, his face burning a red as red as his irises. "Well, fine! I'm out of your life!" He yelled and started stomping towards Haruka. "I'm never seeing you again! Ever! I hate you!" were his last words before he passed by Haruka and stomped away.

Haruka just watched him leave until he was out of sight before Haruka fell on his knees on the ground and trembled. He told himself that these was for the better.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

The cherry blossom petals danced with the passing wind overhead and Haruka watched their elegant movement in a daze. The peace that he felt when he just sat on the ground with his back against the trunk of the cherry blossom tree, his legs straightened with one over the other and with no sound to disturb his peace of mind but the gentle rustling of the leaves when the wind brushed over them, it's almost satisfying. Except, there's a feeling in him every time that he watched the cherry blossom bloom and pass each year that there's something lacking.

Haruka's eyelids slowly fell over his blue irises and he was just at the point of going over to the depths of his consciousness when he heard footsteps slowly nearing him. He assumed that it was his childhood best friend, Tachibana Makoto, so he didn't bother to open his eyes and just continued on in his half-asleep state.

"Huh, so this tree is still alive."

A voice that Haruka had not heard before but strangely sounded familiar to him said. His heart leapt at the sound of it and his pulse quickened. He hesitated on giving in to oblivion when he suspected he knew the owner of that voice. But it couldn't be. There was no way…

"Hmph, and this idiot's still hanging out here."

After hearing that statement, Haruka full on fought for consciousness. He wanted to confirm if his suspicion was right even though he still doubted that _that_ person would be here, because it wasn't just possible so he shouldn't feel hopeful.

His struggle against sleep was futile and this was a first that he didn't actually welcome the dreamland so maybe that's why his body wouldn't listen to him. He heard of footsteps slowly going away and he tried again to open his eyes and see the person of the voice. Still, because he couldn't really believe that the person in mind would be back, and that his hopes were surely rekindled for nothing, he gave up on his struggles and let sleep take him away from reality.

* * *

Haruka awoke at the touch on his shoulder and at the urgent calling of his name, "Haru!" that could only come from a certain childhood best friend. He slowly lifted his eyelids and blinked a few times for his vision to focus then let out a yawn at the sight of his friend, "Makoto."

"Haru, let's get to class!" Makoto exclaimed in his usual gentle and loving tone. "It's already the second day, you should go to class properly!"

As Makoto nagged at him, Haruka looked around him and found the surrounding empty aside from himself and Makoto. He wondered if the voice he heard had only been a figment of his imagination in his dreams and he felt just a slight bit of disappointment. What was he expecting anyway when he already knew that it was just impossible?

"Haru, what's wrong?" It was just like Makoto to notice even the slightest change in him. He just shook his head and replied, "Nothing."

Makoto held out his hand to Haruka and the latter took it and he was pulled up to his feet. He dusted the back of his trousers then heard Makoto giggle. He looked at the brunette questioningly. "You have petals on top of your head." Haruka shook his head, making the petals on him fall away.

They started to walk back towards the school building as Makoto continued to chatter. "Everyone in the class is really enthusiastic. Can you believe it? We actually got a female teacher for homeroom! And she also teaches classic literature. Her name is Amakata Miho-sensei and the class even gave her a nickname." Makoto gave out a small laugh. "And then…"

Haruka waited for the rest but it didn't come. So he looked up at Makoto, "And then…?"

Makoto glanced at him and stared for a bit before putting on his cheerful smile and continued, "And then, as second years, seems like we're going on a trip with the class somewhere."

After hearing the rest that wasn't of his interest, Haruka continued to listen in silence and drifted off with his own thoughts.

They finally reached the stairs the led to the second floor where the second year classrooms were and were just climbing it when they heard running footsteps and a voice calling out to them, "Mako-chan! Haru-chan!" The two paused in the middle of the stairs and turned to look at who had called them so informally. They were met by a beam from a small blond who cheerfully waved at them.

The two just stared at the blond for a second until Makoto gasped and called out, "Nagisa?!" Haruka's expression relaxed a bit and he repeated, "Nagisa?"

Nagisa ran up to them and jumped to hug them tightly as he rambled, "Mako-chan, Haru-chan, I missed you! I've always wanted to come back and see you guys!"

Makoto looked at Nagisa, his surprise still visible on his face. "But I thought you'd be with your grandparents until university! What happened?"

"I begged my parents to let me come back here." Nagisa shrugged and pouted. "In exchange, I have to study well and get into the top rankings and behave. But I couldn't bear to stay with my grandparents! I wanted to be with you guys no matter what! And it was so boring there."

"I'm glad they let you come back!" Makoto said with a pleasant smile.

The bell rang for the classes to start and Nagisa took hold of both Makoto and Haruka's hand. "Mako-chan, Haru-chan, let's eat lunch together! Let's go to that tree just like the old times, alright?"

Makoto nodded enthusiastically. "We'll go!"

"See you later then!" Nagisa waved and hopped away.

Haruka turned away and started walking up the stairs again with Makoto following after him. As they continued on their way towards the classroom, Makoto started talking again. "Nagisa had not changed at all. Actually, the three of us had not changed at all. I wonder how much Rin had changed over the years."

Haruka's heart skipped a beat and he closed his eyes briefly to calm himself. He also wondered if Rin had changed at all or if he was still the same cheerful, nosy, stubborn brat that he was when they were still children. Then he couldn't help imagining if Rin was with them at the moment, laughing and annoying and arguing with him. There's was a painful ache at his chest at the thought of it so he shooed away the idea. It was impossible. It wouldn't happen. Things could never be that way.

They stopped in front of a door and Makoto slid it open and they entered. Haruka almost bumped unto Makoto when the latter suddenly stopped by the entrance and murmured, "Not here."

Haruka gave him a puzzled look but Makoto only smiled at him. "It's nothing." He chose not to pry on and just proceeded inside, heading towards his assigned seat.

* * *

Upon reaching the cherry blossom tree that sat in the middle of other trees, Haruka went straight to it and took his usual seat underneath it, his back against the trunk. He was expecting for Makoto to have followed him and take a seat somewhere beside him but instead, Haruka found the brunette standing at the makeshift entrance of the place that was only parted bushes and looking around the area as if in search of something.

Ever since they'd reached the classroom earlier that morning, Haruka had noticed his best friend acting rather unsettled. He stared up at him as he, Makoto, walked to him and sat down on Haruka's right side, gently putting down their lunch boxes on the grass.

"Makoto." The addressed person looked at him with raised eyebrows and a smile. "You've been acting strange. What is it?"

Makoto just paused before smiling and answering, "I was just wondering if Nagisa would be here already. It's just been the two of us here this past few years so I'm feeling excited for having an old friend join us again. Wouldn't it be nice if the four of us could sit under this tree together again just like in the past?"

The image of the scenario Makoto was talking about flashed in Haruka's mind and he felt the pang of pain on his chest again. He looked up at the falling petals of the cherry blossom, showering them gently in pink and he longed to show this sight with a certain someone.

"Ah, you're here!" Nagisa's cheery voice chirped and the two older teens saw the blond running their way and falling unto a seat in front of them. He grinned before looking up at the tree and exclaiming, "Ah, it's been such a long time since I've seen this tree! I missed it!" he looked back at Haruka and Makoto then giggled. "I also missed being with you guys here! All that's missing is Rin-chan."

Makoto chuckled and handed Haruka his lunch box and opened his own. "Thinking back on it now, with just Haru and me under this tree, it's been rather lonely."

"Wow, so you still continued to come here even after I left?" Nagisa opened a bag of bread and chomped on it.

"Well, this seems to be the only place where Haru can relax, right Haru?" Makoto turned to look at Haruka who had started eating and just returned his look in answer to him. The brunette turned back to Nagisa and continued, "Even now, he still takes naps here."

Nagisa's face twisted into an expression as if he'd eaten something bad. "Heeh, you're still staying with your old man, Haru-chan?"

The two looked at Haruka who only paused midway to putting food in his mouth but didn't respond. Makoto stared at his childhood best friend and was the one who spoke out, "It can't be helped. Haru's father just won't let him go." Haruka's grip tightened around his chopsticks and he frowned at the thought of his old man. He dug into his food with a bit more force and Makoto noticed.

"What about you, Nagisa? Are you staying with your parents?" Makoto asked, trying to reel away the conversation from Haruka.

Nagisa's cheerful grin returned as he replied, "I'll be staying in the dorms."

"Your father allowed that?!" Makoto gaped with his green eyes slightly wide.

The blond huffed and took a bite off his bread and spoke with his mouth full. "It's included in our agreement. I come back here and stay in the dorms, in exchange, I study hard and be on the top rankings. And I also have to silently take over as head of the house after graduating in university."

Both Haruka and Makoto gazed at Nagisa, Makoto's worry much more evident on his face. "But you didn't want to do that." He murmured.

Nagisa smiled but it looked forced. "It can't be helped. Either way, I'd still end up being forced to take the position being the only son and all. Isn't it the same for the both of you?"

It wasn't entirely the case for Makoto since he had a younger brother and he could just pass the position of the heir to him if he really didn't want to take it and his parents would be kind enough to let him. But he chose to not say anything in consideration to his friends with him who were unfortunately being forced to take the position. Especially for Haruka who had it worse than the others.

"Anyway," Nagisa continued after a few seconds of silence. He looked around them then up at the tree as if searching for something. "Doesn't it feel like there's something missing?" He paused and pondered about it until he realized and let out an, "Ah!" He turned to the others with his regained cheerful smile. "Rin-chan! I wonder how Rin-chan's doing. Do you two know?"

Haruka swallowed as the realization hit him. That's what he'd exactly been feeling. Like there's something lacking and there's an empty space within him. And it's Rin that's lacking. Maybe he'd just realized now because he'd always denied it to himself. No, he actually already knew that he knew what was missing but he was afraid to admit it because it was no use feeling that way. Because he knew that Rin would never be coming back.

"I've never heard from him ever since he left." Makoto answered Nagisa.

Nagisa was visibly disappointed hearing that, that if he had been a dog, his ears would probably be drooping down. "Aww, it would be nice to see him again. Oh, I got it!" He brightened up and turned to the other two with a sparkle in his eyes. "Why don't we search for him and go see him? He can't be that far. We can use a detective or an investigator to track him down or something."

"No way." It's the very first thing Haruka said ever since they started eating. The two looked at him with surprised expressions and Nagisa even almost whined, "Eh?! Why, Haru-chan, why not?! Don't you want to see him? It's been such a long time, you know! Let's go search for him, Haru-chan, ne, please?" he insistently pleaded while slowly leaning closer to Haruka.

"No is no." Haruka repeated, his hand clenched tightly on his chopsticks that any tighter might break the wooden utensil. His eyebrows knitted together as he explained, "It wouldn't be good for us to associate with him. There will be rumors and we'll be putting our names into shame. Things are better off the way they are right now."

His two friends looked even more surprised, especially Makoto. "Haru, what are you saying?" His disbelief was clear in his voice. Because he knew it the most, that Haruka didn't care about status or fame or their family names. If anything, he hated it.

Haruka groaned and placed his chopsticks on his empty lunch box. "Anyway, just don't do it, Nagisa, or your father might end you back to your grandparents." He put down his lunch box beside him and fell on his side to the grass, ignoring the wide-eyes stares his friends gave him. "I'm taking a nap."

That left both Makoto and Nagisa exchanging worried looks.

* * *

When the last teacher finally bid farewell, Haruka packed up his things and was going to head straight for the door when Makoto stopped him with a question, "Haru, going to club practice?"

Haruka looked at his friend blankly. "I don't remember belonging into one."

Makoto smiled awkwardly and clarified, "I mean, going to the archery club?"

Haruka shrugged and turned to the door. "I'm going to the tree." He didn't wait for a reply and walked to the door then exited the classroom.

He made his way towards the tree where he wouldn't be aware that he's being watched, where he wouldn't have to keep thinking about his bearing and where he wouldn't have to think what other people might think of him. To the tree that was his escape, where he could be himself.

He walked through the small path that led to the tree and stepped past the makeshift entrance of parted bushes. Like usual, he was about to go straight towards the tree trunk but this time, he stopped dead on his tracks after a few steps. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened a fraction as he stared at the unfamiliar yet at the same time familiar figure that was lying on the grass underneath the cherry blossom tree.

Seconds after seconds had passed and Haruka could only continue to stare while he tried to calm himself and think rationally. After getting his breathing even, he slowly walked towards the figure and looked down at his form. Yes, the man that was in front of him now was indeed unfamiliar.

This man was tall, with legs longer than Haruka's. His shoulders were broad and his hands were big and muscled and calloused. Haruka bent down to his knees to look closer at the man's face and he inhaled sharply. The baby fat on his face were almost gone, leaving it more lined and shaped but then was still breathtakingly beautiful. His red hair was still as smooth-looking and silky as Haruka remembered and his eyes… Haruka wondered if they still had the same shine in them.

A pink petal fell on the man's cheek so Haruka reached out and took it off. That slight brush of skin made Haruka's heart race and he was surprised to find that the man in front of him was actually real. However, the touch seemed to have stirred the man and his eyes slowly opened, revealing the same red orbs Haruka remembered.

Haruka shot up straight to a stand while the man sat up and rubbed away the sleep from his eyes. After letting out a yawn, he seemed to have noticed the only other person with him and looked up. His red eyes widened though only a second for his expression quickly twisted into a frown. He glared up at Haruka's blue eyes and growled out his name, "Haru."

The dark-haired teen returned the glare with a blank stare and he coldly asked, "Rin, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to live a normal life."

Rin got up to his feet and stood straight in front of Haruka. He really was taller than a few centimeters, Haruka thought. "Well, sorry to disappoint you! It seems that no matter what I do, I still end up returning to this place. Maybe I'm just really the type that can't live a normal life."

Haruka frowned and huffed, "No, you shouldn't be here, you're not meant to be here!" Haruka opened his mouth to say more but was overwhelmed with the many things he wanted to say and he didn't know which to say first. That living the life of nobility was only painful and suffocating. That Rin would only get hurt if he stayed within the high society. That it was dangerous for him and that Haruka didn't want him to end up like his father. He bit his lower lip in frustration when nothing came out of his mouth.

"You're the one who's mistaken." Rin retorted after Haruka's silence. "I deserve to be here as much as you, Makoto and Nagisa does. I'll prove that to you."

Haruka's hands balled up into fists and he clenched them tightly they trembled. He watched Rin walk past him again and leave him and the cherry blossom tree. He stayed rooted against the ground as Rin left his sight and he shook slightly.

He suddenly felt the center of his palm wet so he looked at his closed hand and slowly opened it up. He realized he was still holding unto the petal that he took off from Rin's cheek. But because he squeezed his hand so tightly, it crumpled to the point of releasing its liquids. He completely crushed it.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I am Matsuoka Rin!" The loud and cheerful introduction pulled Haruka out of his blank stare towards the window, his blue eyes flickering from it to the red-haired boy at the front. "I have a girly name but I am a hundred percent boy!" He grinned as if amused by his own statement and bowed. "Please take care of me!"

Haruka turned back to staring outside the window, paying the overly-enthusiastic transfer student not an ounce of interest, thinking that this boy was probably just the same as the others.

* * *

In a few days' time, Haruka couldn't help his notice being drawn towards his new classmate when said classmate was too friendly; not exactly to him since they've had no interaction yet whatsoever, but to their other classmates. Somehow, he was able to blend in much easier than any average person would and he'd started to join a circle of friends. Then, during break times, he and his circle of friends would chatter nonstop at a little louder voice than most others and he would laugh so boisterously he would surprise the rest of the occupants in the room, including Haruka himself.

For the Haruka who like peace and quiet the most and the silence that enabled him to roam freely with his mind, the redhead's voice that so often disrupted his thoughts and brought him back to senses started to irk him. What's worse, the moment he realized that it did, he got even more aware of the sound of it to the point that he couldn't ignore it anymore. That annoyed him even more.

It became his initial reaction for his brows to knit together at the very sight of the red-haired or at the very sound of his joyful voice. Then he started to treasure the short moments he got to be away from his source of distraction that sometimes, he caught himself sighing without his consent. It was strange how a person he never even had contact with could affect him so much, and then that became another source of annoyance.

One of the short moments when Haruka was free of his distraction was lunch time since the red-haired and his group always went to the canteen to eat while he ate from a lunch box with Makoto in their classroom. He was contentedly enjoying his meal in peace when his attention was called to a group of students that ate near them.

"That Matsuoka is from an upstart family, isn't he?" A student from the nearby group whispered loud enough for Haruka to hear. "I heard that his family only roe up to ranks lately thus enabled him to attend this school."

"That's what I heard too." Another student contributed. "Should Uehara and the others really hang out with him? Their families would probably scold them for associating with someone from an upstart."

"Oh, but Uehara is from a low-ranking family. Maybe that's why they get along so well?"

They snickered and elbowed one another in mock scolding. "Hey, at least Uehara has history. But Matsuoka, isn't he a little too arrogant considering he's only an upstart? They always talk too loudly and become such a disturbance."

Haruka couldn't agree more to that last statement.

"Uehara didn't use to be so loud. Tsk, it must be because he's hanging out with Matsuoka, he's getting influenced! Someone should teach Matsuoka manners and etiquettes. It won' be good for us if we too, get influenced by his commoner acts!"

"You're right, how about_ we_ teach him a lesson? He should know his place and behave."

The group continued their discussion with increasing snickers and giggles. Haruka put down his chopsticks and closed his eyes with a deep breath. He told himself to stop listening and just mind his own business. The matters concerning Matsuoka didn't have anything to do with him and he's better off pretending he didn't hear a thing.

"Haru-chan, what's wrong?" Makoto, who sat across him, asked with a slightly worried look.

Haruka just shook his head and picked up his chopsticks again to continue eating. "It's nothing."

* * *

In the days that followed after Haruka heard that conversation, Haruka started to follow Matsuoka with his eyes, whether he was aware of it or not. He watched out for any difference in the redhead's behavior, wondering if their classmates had done anything to him at all. Then at the times Haruka caught himself thinking about these things, he'd frowned and scold himself for caring. Nothing changed though and he'd still continue to think about Matsuoka.

During the passing days, there seemed to be nothing unusual with Matsuoka. Like always, he greeted everyone with unmatched energy and continued to hang out with his circle of friends. He continued to be the cheerful, annoying him that Haruka irately thought that he might've been thinking too much.

However, Haruka was proven wrong when one afternoon, after they had been dismissed, he waited for Makoto by the lockers because the latter had been called to the staff room. They had always headed home together so Haruka waited for him. While he idly stood at the side, wandering around in mind like always, he heard the sounds of laughter and chuckling. In the midst of the silent lockers, Haruka couldn't help hearing the conversation.

"This time, let's see if Matsuoka still won't budge. If the previous ones didn't work, this time, for sure…"

Haruka frowned after hearing them and walked to where the voices were. He found the same group of students as the ones back in the classroom that ate near him and Makoto and talked about "teaching Matsuoka a lesson". They didn't seem to have noticed Haruka and continued to chatter amongst themselves while stuffing some sort of trashes inside a locker.

Unable to hold himself down, Haruka glared at the students and called out, "What are you doing?"

The students flinched and snappily turned their heads to look at Haruka. Their mouths fell open and their eyes widened with one of them stuttering out, "N- Nanase-sama!" Haruka's blue irises flickered to look at the open locker and, noticing where he was looking, the student nearest the locker slammed it shut.

"What are you doing?" Haruka repeated, his eyes going back to glaring at the students.

"No- nothing!" One of them answered and another added, "We- we have to get going now, right?" The other two vigorously nodded their heads, saying, "W- we'll see you tomorrow, Nanase-sama! Goodbye!" And without waiting for a response, they hurriedly fled towards the exit.

Haruka just stood still for a second before walking to the locker the other students were flocking around earlier and stood in front of it. It read: "Matsuoka Rin". He opened it and his face immediately twisted into an expression of disgust. He pinched his nose with his thumb and index finger and gazed at the interior. The locker contained not only Matsuoka's indoor shoes but also trashes of different kinds of varieties, and the shoes were soaked with some sort of sticky liquid. He could only stare at the contents silently, not quite sure what to think.

"Nanase?" Haruka slightly jerked before turning to look at the source of the familiar, annoying voice, suddenly finding himself face to face with the very owner of the locker he took liberties to open.

Matsuoka walked to him with one eyebrow raised as he inquired, "What are you doing?" before looking at his locker and his expression dawned with understanding. "Ah, they sure never know when to stop." He shook his head with a sigh.

Haruka watched the other boy as he carefully took out his soaked shoes, muttering, "Ah, I need to wash them!" then staring back at his locker, probably trying to figure out how to clean it. A few questions popped up in Haruka's head but he wasn't sure how to voice them out so he could only hesitate.

Matsuoka turned to Haruka and asked a question of his own so casually, "Nanase, why do other students call you 'Nanase-sama'?"

A frown etched itself unto Haruka's forehead as he thought about an answer. He always thought this question needn't be asked and assumed that everyone knew why. Didn't Matsuoka hear from his friends? He didn't really want to answer this question himself. "Who knows."

As Haruka was still pinching his nose, blocking the air access through it, when he spoke, his voice sounded muffled and it somehow incited a boisterous laughter from the red-haired. He removed his fingers and scowled at the other, not comprehending what was so funny with his muffled voice.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." Matsuoka said, wiping at the corners of his eyes from tears of laughter. "It's just that you always look so composed and proper, the muffled voice didn't fit your image." He went back to a lighter fit of laughter.

Haruka glared, finding the redhead's laughter noisy and annoying. He's even louder with their current distance that Haruka felt his ears drowned out of other sounds but laughter. "You should learn to tone it down, Matsuoka. This is exactly why those people are doing these to you." He gestured towards the locker.

The laughter abruptly stopped and Matsuoka stared at Haruka with surprise mixed in with some delight. "Hey, you actually remember my name."

Although that was also a surprise to Haruka when he realized it for it was uncommon of him to remember other people's names much less someone he'd never talked to before this, he still managed to twist his facial features with annoyance and groaned, "So what? We're in the same class, you know."

"Ah, it's just that you seem like the type who wouldn't remember people's names."

He wasn't mistaken so that just annoyed Haruka some more.

"Haru-chan, where are you?" Makoto's voice echoed through the silence, both Haruka and Matsuoka looking up at the end of the line of lockers to see Makoto enter their line of sight. The brunette spotted them and ran to them, looking at the two briefly then smiled down at Haruka. "We can go home now." He announced then turned to Matsuoka and back again at Haruka with a questioning gaze.

Matsuoka smiled at Makoto and explained, "I came back to get a notebook I forgot at the classroom and coincidentally bumped unto Nanase."

Makoto nodded his understanding and caught sight of the damp shoes Matsuoka was holding. He tilted his head slightly as he asked, "What happened?"

Matsuoka followed his line of sight and only smiled as he looked at his pitiful shoes. "It's nothing."

Makoto noticed the open locker and the awful smell it was exuding but he didn't say anything and just fumbled on his pockets. "Hold on." He pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to the red-haired. "Here, you can use this to clean up. You don't have to return it."

The red-haired only stared at the handkerchief for a second before smiling and accepting it. "Thanks, this'll help a lot."

The brunette had an apologetic look as he stated, "I'm sorry, I would've helped you but…" he glanced at Haruka who staring blankly at an empty space. "Haru-chan has a strict curfew. But, do you know who did these?"

Haruka's head snapped up at Makoto with a glare. "Makoto!"

Matsuoka chuckled and replied, "It's fine, you don't have to bother. I don't want to get you involved. You should get going if 'Nanase-sama' has such a 'strict curfew'."

Haruka glared at Matsuoka, knowing his name was said in sarcasm and stormed past the red-haired, towards the exit.

"Sorry, Matsuoka-kun, we'll see you tomorrow." Makoto politely bid farewell and followed after Haruka.

* * *

The day after, when Matsuoka arrived, he greeted the class like usual and headed to his seat. After dropping off his bag and exchanged greeting with his friends, he headed towards Haruka and Makoto's direction, attracting the attention of the class which he ignored and beamed down at the two with a, "Good morning!"

Treating Matsuoka like any other, Haruka didn't respond and just turned his head away, ignoring the red-haired and heard Makoto greet back a cheerful, "Good morning." Haruka knitted his brows together. Sometimes, Makoto's kindness and politeness wasn't good at all.

Matsuoka pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Makoto. "This is in exchange for the one you gave me yesterday." He gave a small embarrassed laugh as he continued, "I don't know if this will do but I bought an identical one from the one you gave me."

Makoto looked sincerely grateful as he accepted the handkerchief and smiled up brightly at the other. "Thank you. Although, you really didn't have to do this." Then a look of worry replaced his happiness as he asked, "However, are you alright? I really wish I could be much more help to you."

Haruka glanced at Matsuoka's indoor shoes and they amazingly looked like they had not been damaged and seemed to be in better conditions. A small sigh of relief almost escaped his lips but he caught himself before it happened and he frowned while questioning himself internally as to why he felt relieved. It's not like he cared for Matsuoka at all.

"It's fine, you've helped enough." Matsuoka assured Makoto before turning his head to Haruka, his head tilted slightly with a question, "By the way, Nanase, why were you in front of my locker yesterday?"

Haruka's eyes widened slightly at the sudden question but that passed right away after the next second as he shot his deathliest glare at the red-haired. Makoto's eyes also widened and he turned to Haruka with disbelief, "Haru-chan?"

Getting a hint from Haruka's death glare, Matsuoka immediately waved a hand and explained, "No, no, I'm not accusing you or anything like that. I know you're not the one who did that to my locker. I'm just really curious why you'd be there, that's all."

The frown on Haruka's face was still present but he didn't look as angry anymore. He hesitated on his answer to that because he didn't know if it'd be wiser to tell the truth or lie. First of all, the matter was none of his concern and he wasn't obliged to speak of anything. Actually, why should he even answer? Besides, he didn't want to get involved. So he only glanced at the group of students who were the perpetrator of the mess behind Matsuoka's locker and were stealing glances towards their direction before whipping his head away to face the windows.

Makoto seemed to have noticed the glance Haruka gave the students though and looked at their direction. Understanding dawned on him and he looked at Haruka. "Oh, could it be that Haru-chan saw the students messing with Matsuoka-kun's locker?"

Why did Makoto have to guess all that he's thinking? Haruka thought irritably.

The expression on the brunette's face turned into a mixture of emotions as he asked his best friend, "Haru-chan, why didn't you stop them?"

Haruka was suddenly filled with anger and he scowled at Makoto, hissing, "They were in the middle of stuffing his locker with the trashes and other things already."

"Calm down, Nanase." Matsuoka said in a failed attempt to appease the black-haired boy although he did go back to his silence and looking out the window. "Well, actually, thank you for interrupting them or my shoes might've been in a worse state."

Haruka only huffed in response.

Makoto stared at Haruka, looking like he wanted to apologize and beg for it if necessary but because the other refused to look at him, he turned to Matsuoka instead. "How long has this been going on? We should report it to the teachers."

Matsuoka waved his hand. "Ah, no, there's no need to do that. I'm sure they'll eventually stop anyway."

Makoto was hesitant but replied, "Well, if you say so." Then his face brightened as if he'd just thought of a good idea. "Oh, I know! Matsuoka-kun, won't you eat lunch with us today?"

Haruka snapped his head towards Makoto with disbelief clearly displayed on his face while Matsuoka hesitated. "Huh? Well…" he paused and suddenly, he looked at Makoto with a bright smile as if he had not hesitated at all. "Sure, why not!"

* * *

From that moment onwards, Matsuoka started to exchange words with Haruka and Makoto often and always joined them at lunch. Haruka didn't think of it pleasant at all for he got to hear the noise that was Matsuoka even closer, and the stares he constantly got from the class almost turned hostile and he felt all the more uncomfortable. Among all others, it was Matsuoka's friends that had been giving him death glares but even then, he couldn't really bring himself to shun away the red-haired.

At first, Haruka thought that Matsuoka would be bullied less now that he started to hang out with him and Makoto. But he caught a new set of students filling in Matsuoka's locker with more trash and other things and even his school bag didn't escape from such harassment. The worst that happened was when the redhead's notebook pages were glued with razor blades that cut his finger. The bullying actually got worse but Matsuoka still continued to talk and eat lunch with them.

That actually became another issue of Matsuoka that Haruka got annoyed of because not only did it make Makoto worry, it also started to make _him_, of all people, worry although this he would never admit. Plus, Matsuoka getting close to them made the redhead's friends angry and upset. This, Haruka confirmed when he happened to walk unto Matsuoka and one of his friends arguing by the isolated staircase.

Haruka always seemed to bump unto the other when there's some kind of trouble and that irked him because he _didn't want to get involved_. But when Matsuoka was arguing with his friend by the stairs, Haruka stopped behind a wall and listened to their exchange.

"I told you it's not like that!" Matsuoka hissed. He sounded like he was holding back from raising his voice but not quiet accomplishing it.

"Then what is it?!" The friend yelled. This one wasn't even bothering to suppressing his voice at all. "Even if you say that, you're still making all of us think that you're going after Nanase-sama and Tachibana-sama's fame! Especially with your current status and all, you're not being very convincing with your denial!"

"Argh, I'm just trying to protect you guys, ok?! I don't want them to start harassing you guys too so I've decided to keep my distance!"

"By getting close to Nanase-sama and Tachibana-sama?! The harassment's just going to get worse! The others totally think that you're leaving us because it's more beneficial to be close to Nanase-sama and Tachibana-sama!"

"When the harassment's only worsened? I don't get how you guys think at all!"

"Just come back to us already!"

"No!"

"Come back!"

"No!"

The conversation just went on like that for a few more times until the friend's voice finally declared, "Fine! Do whatever you want!" then the sound of shoes stomping on the stairs echoed. Haruka waited until the friend appeared beside him and looked at him. He looked startled at first but quickly recovered and glared hard at Haruka before continuing on his way.

Haruka stepped out from the wall and looked up at the stairs where Matsuoka was just descending. The latter stopped in the middle when he saw Haruka and blurted out with surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"I was just passing by." Haruka responded.

Matsuoka awkwardly scratched at the nape of his neck and averted his eyes. "Did you hear us?"

Haruka returned the question with his own, "So you're using us?"

Panic was written all over Matsuoka as he frantically waved his hands. "No way, it's not like that. I don't even know what sort of benefits getting close to you guys have."

"You're using us to protect your friends."

Matsuoka stopped with his flustered waving and his shoulders relaxed. "Oh, that. I'm not using you guys for that either. It just so happens that when I've decided to distance myself from my friends, I got the chance to talk to you and Makoto. Then my getting close to you guys is purely out of interest because," he looked at Haruka and grinned. "It's fun to be with you."

Haruka only frowned and turned his head away.

"Oh, right, Haru!" Haruka's eyebrow twitched at being so called familiarly by someone other than Makoto. He glared at the red-haired but got ignored. Matsuoka went on and ran to him with a huge smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "I have something I want to show you!" His excitement was obvious in his voice and Haruka only waited. Suddenly, his hand was grabbed by the other boy and he was pulled along to a run. At first, he was surprised and tried to struggle. "Wait, what are you-? Where are you taking me?" He called out and Matsuoka replied with a grin and continued to drag him. He gave up and let himself be dragged away.

For Haruka, it seemed like they've ran a long way for when Matsuoka finally stopped dragging him into a run, he was gasping for air and felt his lungs being squeezed. He didn't know where they were and couldn't be bothered to care when he was struggling for breathing.

"Haru, we're here. What do you think?"

Haruka sighed, finally got his breathing even again, before looking up to their surroundings only for his breath to be stolen away. He didn't know where in the school they were but they stood facing a big tree, that looked to be a cherry blossom tree, which was located in a center of other big trees. With only nature all around them, there was only the sound of leaves rustling and birds chirping to be heard and none of those endless chatter and gossip and whispering behind his back. There was not a sound of people that could disrupt his train of thoughts and there were not eyes everywhere that pierced him with their stares. Peaceful and silent; his ideal place to be.

"This tree is a cherry blossom tree." Matsuoka pointed out, indicating the tree that stood looming over them at the front. "It's too bad we didn't get to see it in the bloom but next year, let's watch it together."

Haruka stared at Matsuoka and was slightly surprised when the red-haired seemed to know what he was silently asking. "Well, Haru, you get really uncomfortable when people stare at you, right? Especially when we're eating lunch together. So if we are to eat our lunch here, then there won't be eyes looking at you anymore, right? Then you can freely be yourself."

Without thinking, Haruka squeezed the hand that was still clasped in his and realized that they were still holding hands. He looked up at the cherry blossom tree that had not a flower left, his cheeks slightly tinted with pink and he sighed, "Let go of my hand, Rin."

* * *

A/N : Thank you so much for the reviews and follows and favorites . My hard work is for all of you chuu~


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I was going to put this up earlier but ff was being ... anyway, I was so happy with all the reviews I got that I couldn't bring myself to not put up an update. I wanted to give you all some sorta Christmas present so... an update it is!

* * *

Chapter 3

Haruka went to school even earlier than he usually did that when he slid the door of the Archery club's dojo open, there was only the club captain, Mikoshiba Seijuro, inside. He was just in time to see the captain stand to his feet slowly and gracefully with the bow and arrow.

The captain held the target with his steady gaze, breathing calm and even, as he slowly lifted his arms to a stance. Right gloved-hand holding the arrow stretched the string of the bow slowly but surely and held it still. Then released. The arrow pierced right at the center of the target with a "thunk" and Mikoshiba exhaled, closing his eyes for a second and when he opened them, they were directed at Haruka who stayed standing still by the doorway. He grinned and greeted, "Yo, Nanase. You're earlier today."

Haruka stepped inside the dojo, closing the door behind him and walked to Mikoshiba. "I need to get some things off my mind." He walked past the captain and headed straight to the lockers room.

After changing into a hakama, Haruka stood beside Mikoshiba with his own bow and arrow.

"You should really just join the club, you know." Mikoshiba said, looking at Haruka up and down. "You have talent for it, you're very good. If you join, maybe I'll make you the next captain when I retire."

Haruka only glanced at Mikoshiba then gazed straight towards the target. He shifted to proper posture and mumbled, "You already have Makoto." raised both arms steadily, pulled unto the string of the bow carefully, paused, then released. The arrow hit the center of the target successfully but Haruka lowered his arms and exhaled unsatisfactorily. He needed more focus. He needed to remove the lingering emotions in his chest that only a certain redhead could do.

The memory of their latest encounter flashed in Haruka's mind when he closed his eyes and the unwanted emotions were starting to seep through him again. He breathed in deep and exhaled with a small sound. He took the next arrow, focused only at the target and readied to shoot again.

It took a number of arrows for Haruka to get all of his concentration only to the target and regain his calm and composed demeanor. Although a bit disturbed to realize just how much Rin could affect him, he was still relieved that he still managed to reach a peace of heart and mind. To reach the state of Zen. With what he decided as his last shot for the day, Haruka looked at the target, raised his arms to pull unto the string, slowly and accurately, paused then… Bam!

The release had been sudden but it managed to successfully hit near the center. Haruka turned his head towards the door that was the source of that loud sound just now and saw a small, gray-haired student standing there and gaping at him.

"Nitori, open the door gently next time!" Mikoshiba scolded as he must have also been startled by that sound.

"N- Na- Nanase-sama." The gray-haired student stammered and Haruka only raised an eyebrow at him. Then the student gasped and bowed his head low. "I'm sorry for the interruption!"

"Yeah, yeah, just come in already."

The student nodded, closed the door behind him and walked in. He headed for the lockers room but glanced at Haruka for a bit when he passed by then ran the rest of the way. Haruka thought him strange but couldn't care less. He turned to look at the target in front of him and decided that he's done for the day. He also headed for the lockers room.

When Haruka entered the lockers room, the gray-haired student visibly jumped. Haruka ignored him and just reached for his uniform and changed.

With his last piece of clothing on, Haruka reached for his bag to leave when the door opened and in came Makoto. He smiled brightly when he saw Haruka and headed for him. "Haru, you're early today. When I went over to your house, I was told that you went ahead. Are you done for today? Are you going to the tree now?"

"Yeah." Haruka replied.

"Rin might be there."

Speaking about Rin, Haruka glared at Makoto. "You didn't tell me he's back."

Makoto scratched an index finger on his cheek. "I was thinking about surprising you."

Haruka scowled and stepped past Makoto. "I'm going." Before he walked to the door, he noticed the gray-haired student still changing into his hakama. He certainly took a long time and he started to wonder as to why.

Makoto noticed Haruka staring and followed his line of sight and also looked at the gray-haired who was fumbling with his belt. Makoto didn't even hesitate when he walked over to the smaller one and tied the belt for him. "Here you go." He said with his ever gentle smile.

Haruka ignored them and headed for the door, the last he heard from the room was the gray-haired stuttering a, "T- thank y-you."

* * *

Haruka walked through the still quiet school grounds. There weren't many students yet aside from those who joined clubs and had club activities. This was another part of his reasons for coming to school early since with very little students, he could walk around almost unnoticed.

When Haruka reached the back of the school grounds, Makoto's words echoed through his head, _Rin might be there_. Unconsciously, his strides grew longer and faster, anticipation filling his insides and he even forgot to think of what he should do if Rin was really there.

Just as Haruka was about to reach the makeshift entrance to the tree, he halted on his steps and breathed in. what if Rin was really there? He asked himself now. What would he do? What should he say? Would they be arguing again, would he be pushing away the redhead again? As his thoughts spiralled in his mind again, he balled up his fists and shook his head as if to shake away his thoughts. No, he didn't want to think about them. The tree was supposed to be his escape, he shouldn't be thinking about problems instead. He inhaled and turned his head towards the tree. Whether Rin was there or not, he would deal with him once confronted.

With that decided, Haruka proceeded to walk through the bushes and looked up towards the tree, his heart strangely palpating against his chest, he could almost hear it pump his blood. But his over-racing heart died away in an instant when he saw not a trace of red around the area. He turned his head left and right as he walked towards the tree and felt his heart sink further when there really wasn't any red-haired around. He shrugged his shoulders resignedly and sat down underneath the tree.

He reasoned with himself that Rin didn't really have to be there. If anything, Rin probably didn't want to be there when he knew that Haruka would be there as well. And of course, that's to be expected with how he'd treated the other in their latest encounter.

But as Haruka leaned back and fell on his back against the ground, looking up at the pink flowers of the tree petals raining on him elegantly and gently, he couldn't help feeling that even this place didn't escape the emptiness that was in his heart.

* * *

In the end, Haruka couldn't get his usual nap before morning classes started and he also couldn't relax at all. So, half the hour before the morning classes started, he decided to go back to the classroom and just spend the rest of the timed there. For what seemed like the first time in his life, he actually felt that maybe a little noise would be better than the silence that was gnawing at him.

When he entered the classroom, he noticed the students eyeing him then whispering among themselves. It must've been unusual for them as it was for Haruka that he arrived in the classroom minutes more than five before classes started. And he also didn't have Makoto with him.

Haruka ignored the eyes on him (since when did he not?) and just went to sit on his seat. He proceeded to staring outside the window in a daze, with the noisy buzzing of people as his background. Ah, how strange it was for him to feel comforted by such noise.

He was just enjoying how his mind was wandering about when he was brought back to his senses at the call of the name, "Matsuoka!" His head snapped towards the door and saw Rin coming in with another student, who must've been the one who called out his name, running to the redhead and threw an arm around his shoulders. He grinned cheekily and engaged into conversation with the other that Haruka couldn't manage to hear. Rin's stern expression relaxed to exasperation and the other student laughed.

Haruka frowned and looked away. Irritation was quickly filling him in and he glared out the window. He recognized the student that was acting so overly familiar with Rin as one of Rin's friends way back when they were still children. If he remembered right, this was the friend who was closest to the redhead and got into a loud argument with the latter. After that argument, they never talked again and Rin became a part of Haruka's circle. So how were they so close again?

Although Haruka didn't want to look at them, he couldn't stop his eyes from turning to the redhead. He watched them, with eyes that could shoot daggers, converse casually and felt his irritation pile up into heaps when the "friend" didn't let go of Rin and even managed to bring out a small smile from those soft lips.

He snapped his head the other way with both hands clenched into tight fists that slightly trembled. How could Rin go back to being friends with someone who abandoned him? It was Haruka and Makoto who stayed by his side after that and they never turned their backs on him at all, did they?

Haruka blinked and his hands relaxed, his irritation vanishing into nothing as he stared out the window with wide eyes. No, he did turn away from Rin and even rejected him, telling him such hurtful words he never meant. At the very end, and at that time when Rin was also hurting the most, he was the one who abandoned him and crushed him.

The corners of Haruka's eyes felt hot and prickly so he closed them just as he closed his palms. It couldn't be helped, he told himself. He needed to do that for Rin. It was his own way of protecting him. Yet, even though he did all of that just to keep him away, to protect him, Rin still came back, saying ridiculous things like he deserved to be there like them. That he'd prove himself even though there's nothing to prove. "Idiot."

"Haru?" The dark-haired teen slightly jolted at the touch on his shoulder and he turned his head to face Makoto with a slightly surprised expression. The brunette withdrew his hand, with a tilt of his head and his expression turned worried. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Haruka automatically replied. He shook his head to assure his best friend and looked away.

Makoto left him alone and went to his seat that had always been beside Haruka. "Haru, I was so surprised when I didn't find you at the tree like usual. Did something happen?"

"No." Makoto must be worried and Haruka knew. But he didn't want to worry his friend any more that he already was and there really were just some things that he couldn't tell anyone. Because if he couldn't even tell them to Rin, then all the more he couldn't tell any other.

* * *

"Matsuoka, do you have a horse?"

Haruka glanced at Rin and his friend who conversed nearby while slipping on his gloves. He couldn't keep his eyes away from the red-haired in his horse riding clothes that suited him far too nicely. Horse riding was one of the classes Haruka appreciated less but suddenly, he felt glad they had it if it showed a new look of Rin's. he had his red hair tied up to a pony tail at the back of his head that sent Haruka's heart racing and his blood tinting his cheeks red. And the room suddenly felt too hot for him.

"Yeah, or I should have, at least." Rin answered his friend, slipping on his own gloves and picking up his head gear from the bench. "I guess I'll go and check." Haruka looked away as Rin passed by him and exited the changing room.

Unable to stop himself, Haruka picked up his own gear too and also headed for the door. "Haru, where are you going?" Makoto asked him from behind and he replied, "I'm checking my horse." Then exited the room. He slowly headed towards the stables, making sure he wouldn't catch up to Rin with his strides. He didn't know what he was trying to do, honestly, but all he knew was that he wanted to follow Rin.

Upon reaching the stables, he searched through each one of them for the red-haired. When he finally came across the right one where Rin was standing in front of one of the horses inside, he did not enter and just hid behind the door. That's when he just realized he didn't know what to do and he might looked foolish following after Rin and hiding himself after. So, why did he even follow Rin?

While he sifted through his head for an acceptable reason that he now stood leaning against the door outside a stable, he also listened to Rin say sweet words in a really gentle voice to his horse, effectively distracting Haruka from thinking. He never heard Rin's tone so gentle before, but that's only to be expected with how bitter they were to each other now. But when they were still children, Rin used to call his name with a certain gentleness and sweetness to it that it sounded almost being…- Haruka shook his head vigorously to rid himself of such thoughts. His heart started to race again and he breathed in and out to calm himself.

Anyway, hearing Rin's gentle voice now was rather strange to Haruka. Rin's voice had changed and was now deep like that of a grown man's. And when he spoke with gentleness, he sounded almost husky and…- Haruka felt slightly envious of the horse. He, too, wanted Rin to call his name again and certainly not in a snarl like how he usually did now.

Haruka got so caught up in his thoughts that he slightly jumped when a figure entered his peripheral vision. He turned his head and found himself face to face with a surprised Rin. "Haru?" And automatically, he called back, "Rin." They only stood staring at each other in silence for seconds until Haruka started to feel uncomfortable that he turned away and started to walk back to the rest of the class. A strong hold around his wrist stopped him though, and he was tugged strongly enough that he was turned around to face Rin again.

"Haru." Rin stared straight into Haruka's blue eyes and for the first time since they'd reconciled, Haruka saw no hostility in those red eyes. Rin was still frowning at him and glaring but he couldn't feel the heat of anger present. He only looked serious and determined. "For the hundred meter track run, race me."

It took a second for Rin's words to sink in when Haruka felt himself being swallowed in his gaze. But when they did sink in, he scowled and looked away. "How troublesome."

Rin grabbed hold of Haruka's other wrist and tugged to make the dark-haired boy look at him. Only when Haruka did that Rin continued. "If I win, stop pushing me away and accept my being here."

"And if I stop pushing you away, you'll return to me?" Haruka unthinkingly blurted out and looked just as surprised as Rin was by his own words. He pulled himself out of Rin's grasp and immediately turned away. "I won't lose." He said to the red-haired who stood frozen still and briskly walked away.

* * *

When Haruka returned to Makoto, he could feel his face burning up. What did he mean by "return to me"? It's the worst that could possibly happen! Rin would be most exposed to danger if he's by Haruka's side and Haruka, of all people, knew that the most. So how could he want Rin to "return" to him?

"Haru, are you alright?" Haruka looked up at Makoto and his worried face. Makoto's been asking him the same question constantly and he reprimanded himself for making his best friend worried. He shook his head in response but when the worry on Makoto's face didn't go, he insisted, "I'm fine."

Makoto didn't look convinced but he dropped the subject. "Hey, Haru, how about we invite Rin to have lunch with us today?" He brightened up and smiled as he added, "Nagisa will probably be happy too. It'll be just like when we were younger. Don't you think it'd be nice too?"

No, Haruka wanted to reply. He reasoned with himself that he shouldn't let things go back to how they used to be. Again, it's for Rin's sake; it's dangerous for them to get closer like before, he repeated the statements in his head like a mantra to convince himself. But the word that came out of his mouth was, "Yeah."

As soon as Haruka and Makoto saddled their horses and were told by their teacher to walk their mounts, the two strolled along the wide open grass fields together while in search for the red-haired. Haruka found him later, walking his horse side by side with his friend and the mere sight of them together irritated the dark-haired teen. He could feel a great urge to go and interrupt them, to just pull away Rin and claim him as his. But what right did he have to do that? He asked himself bitterly. The situation was in so much better condition with the two of them apart but why was he so unsatisfied?

"Oh, there's Rin!" Makoto's voice snapped Haruka out of his spiralling thoughts and he realized that Rin was nowhere in his sights anymore. He turned his head towards the direction Makoto was looking at and saw the red-haired making his way back towards the stables, still with his friend in tow. They weren't with their horses anymore so he briefly looked around and located the beasts tied up unto a tree then he turned back to Makoto when the brunette addressed to him. "Haru, let's go talk to Rin and ask him to join us on lunch." He only nodded his reply and they quickly tied their own horses up and followed after Rin.

When they were close enough, Makoto cheerfully called out to the red-haired, "Rin!"

Rin and his friend stopped and turned to them. They waited for Haruka and Makoto to reach them before Rin asked, "What is it?"

"Where are you going?" Makoto slightly tilted his head in inquiry. "We're going to start with the lessons soon."

Rin only shrugged and replied, "There's still the time trial run. What do you want?"

Makoto smiled, "Won't you have lunch with us today? Nagisa will be there too! It'll be just like when we were young, I'm sure it'd be nice. What do you think?"

Rin's red orbs flickered towards Haruka who only looked away. While refusing to meet his old friend's gaze, Haruka caught the redhead's friend glaring at him. They held each other's gazes, an unspoken battle sparking in between them, and Haruka knew exactly what they're fighting for.

"Sorry, I'm joining Kaede for lunch." Rin replied, jerking a chin to his friend's way in indication. Said friend grinned victoriously at Haruka and the dark-haired teen irritably turned away. This was really pissing him off, especially when that friend of Rin's snickering at him. And did just Rin call the teen by his first name? The corners of Haruka's lips turned downwards in a frown. Was this person actually on equal grounds as Haruka in Rin's perspective?

Makoto looked disappointed as he resignedly sighed, "Oh, that's too bad. Maybe next- Haru, where are you going?" The brunette and the two other teens watched Haruka stalk away briskly. "Wait, Haru!" Makoto called out before turning to Rin to say, "We'll talk to you later, Rin!" then ran after his best friend.

Haruka returned to his horse and was untying it from the tree when he saw Rin's horse from the corner of his eyes. He stared at it for a second before turning to Makoto who had caught up to him, "Makoto, watch my horse for me for a bit." He instructed and made his way towards the redhead's beast.

He didn't know what went through his head but maybe his anger was slowly overtaking him that drove him into doing his actions. In fact, it could only be his anger because it was bubbling in him strongly that he couldn't avoid bumping into one of his classmates. He only gave a quick apology and finally reached Rin's horse. He stood in front of its face and stared into its eyes then untied it from the tree and pulled it into the tracks. He ignored the questioning looks he got and just swung unto the back of Rin's horse. He took hold of the reins and breathed in. He decided, this'll be his way of punishing Rin.

At the light kick of his shoes on the horse's belly, the beast started racing along the tracks. Haruka let the wind blow away the emotions bottled up in his chest and breathed in the air to release the heaviness that had settles on his chest. Just like all the other times he'd mounted his horse and let his periphery fly into blur, he only focused on the track that was in front of him. Except, this time, his focus was suddenly broken into with alarm.

He started to feel himself slipping slightly from the back of his mount and while in confusion of what was happening, the saddle underneath him tilted and he found himself grasping tightly around the horse's neck to keep himself from falling. His heart pounded against his chest loudly as his thoughts raced into his mind, to keep himself calm, to analyze the situation, and to think of a way to get back into his comfortable position.

He tried pulling himself up by the reins but the little movement almost made him lose hold unto the horse, his breathing stopping short within his throat from the fear of falling off. He tightened his grip around the horse more than ever as he tried to think of another way to get back up.

The possible consequences that he'll get from falling suddenly flooded into his brain, only worsening his nervousness and fear and panic. His arms also started to protest from supporting himself up almost all by arms alone and when he berated himself to calm down, to think properly, he caught sight of the ground beneath him and his nerves sent panic signals all over his body once more. He closed his eyes and shouted at himself repeatedly, _no, don't think about it_, and when he could feel his arms loosing strength, an idea finally surfaced into his muddles mind.

He opened an eye slightly to look at the ground only for a brief moment and tried hard to recall the most effective way of falling off a horse that would give him the least of injuries. But really, the thought of falling off the horse itself was honestly very frightening. He could only clench his fists around the horse as he weighed his options, hesitated, reconsidered. Again and again, he ran through in his mind the way to falling off with the least of injuries.

Finally, when he felt that his arms could no longer support him, he decided to let go and fall. He breathed in deep to call forth his courage and determination and, hopefully, skills to actually successfully execute the safest way to falling down. He told himself he'd let go at the count of three. Then he counted: _one, two, th-_

"Haru!" The voice immediately made Haruka's eyes snap open and crane his neck to the side to see who had called his name. Well, he already knew but he didn't trust his ears that he'd heard right. There was no way Rin would call his name with alarm and concern, look at him with his beautiful face twisted in worry, one arm outstretched to him with an open palm… he stared with wide eyes at the unbelievable sight in front of his face.

"Haru!" Rin called again, stretching out his arm some more. "Take my hand! Take my hand and jump off to here!"

Haruka stared at the open palm.

"Hurry up!" Rin prompted.

Haruka stared at the red of the eyes of his old friend. They were rather calm and strong despite the circumstances. They stared back at his blues as if trying to engulf him with their redness.

"Trust me." The words must've been shouted at him, screamed or bellowed but to Haruka, they sounded calm, firm, trusting. All his doubts and fears were instantly driven away and without hesitation, he reached out and took hold of that palm.

* * *

A/N: Errr... this must be really cliche but when I think about Historical, it comes with swords and bows and arrows and horses so... also, I don't know a thing about horse riding, I've never touched a horse before but I felt that no other event would be good enough. It's the first thing that came to mind and well... Forgive me for any mistake OTL Thank you so much for reading this and thank you for all the reviews and faves and follows. I love you all~


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